“Shall I fasten your dress for you, my dear?”
“Thanks; I can dress myself.”
At that moment the sound of something being placed against the window made Emilie jump.
“What is that?” she said.
“It was in that closet, I think; something fell.”
“No, madame, the noise didn’t come from the closet; it was at the window.”
The ladies went to the window and saw Monsieur Destival, who had just placed a ladder against the outer sill.
“What in the world are you doing, monsieur?” exclaimed Madame Destival in alarm; “what is the meaning of this ladder and all this confusion?”
“My dear love, I know now all the evolutions there are; the only thing left for me to learn is to storm a fort; that’s the bouquet, so Bertrand says, and he’s going to show me how. You, mesdames, are inside the fortress, you represent the enemy; you must try to keep us out, but we will enter the citadel in spite of you.”
“What is the meaning of this absurd nonsense, monsieur?”